ib_world_religionsfandomcom-20200214-history
Islam
Islam is the world's second largest religion and is the dominant religion on the Arabian peninsula as well as in North Africa and places in South East Asia. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims and they believe that there is one God, known as Allah, and that the Prophet Muhammad is His messenger. The Human Condition Humans must strive to submit themselves to the will of God for without divine guidance they are likely to stray from the path of prescribed and prohibited actions that God has set out in order to prevent moral error. ' Where are we going? *'For the faithful, to eternal janna, by obedience to God's will *'By disobedience to God's will, to jahannam, which is reserved to those whom God has decided to punish for a time for committing grave sins and not repenting.' How do we get there? We attain salvation via submission to God's will. This may be achieved by: *'acknowledging tawhid and submitting to His will, as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad and his prophets' *'believing in God, the scriptures, angels, jinns and akhira' *'living according to the Qur'an and the divinely inspired sayings of the Prophet Muhammad' *'practicing the Five Pillars of Islam, the obligations prescribed in the Qur'an for individual Muslims' Theme 1: Rituals Lifetime Rituals/Rites of Passage Birth Rituals *Shahadah and adhan recited into a child's ears *'Tahneek' - date juice is given to the baby so the first thing he or she tastes is something sweet. Connects the child to the Prophet Muhammad because he practiced this ritual. *'Aqeeqa' - on the seventh day of life the father sacrifices a sheep or goat (2 if it's a boy) and 2/3 of the meat is distributed among the family and 1/3 is given to charity. **Introduces the child to Zakat *'Khitan '- the circumcision of a boy on either the seventh day or year of life *'Naming ceremony '- on the seventh day of life the baby is given a name and its hair is shaved and the weight of the hair in silver is given to the community Marriage Rituals *'Mahr '- a dowry paid to the wife that is her property and a sign of her financial independence. *'Polygyny '- A man is allowedto have up to four wives in Islam, provided he can support them all *'Wali '- A guardian, who either must or should approve a wedding *'Zawaj' - marriage *'Nikah '- most common form of a wedding with a legal contract signed which can be ended with a divorcr *'Walimah '- large wedding feast Death rituals *The dead body is washed for an hour *The body is annointed wiht oil *Washing is based on the idea of purification of the body before prayer Worship The Five Pillars of Islam *'Shahadah '- the testimony of faith which is uttered at birth, death, conversion and prayer. It states that there is only one God and Muhammad is His messenger. *'Salat '- Prayer five times a day initiated by the 'Adhan '(call to prayer). Prayer can take place in the mosque but also anywhere else and the Muslim will be facing Mecca. *'Zakat '- Giving 2.5% of one's surplus income to charity each year. Enforces the idea of the 'ummah '(Islamic community). *'Sawm '- Fasting during the month of Ramadan *'Hajj '- The pilgrimage to Mecca performed at least once in a lifetime if one is financially able to and well enough. Festivals Gender and ritual Society and ritual Category:Islam Category:Theme 1 Category:Rituals Category:Festivals Category:Gender Category:Worship Category:Rites of passage